This invention relates to exercise equipment and, in particular, to training apparatus for athletes such as football players.
In the game of football, linemen are trained to move from a three point stance with a quick explosive thrust to drive opponents off the line of scrimmage. Conventional exercise equipment, such as blocking sleds and weight lifting apparatus which have been used in the past to train football players, develop pure strength but are not totally satisfactory in training football linemen to make the explosive movement they need to be effective. This is because conventional exercise equipment develops slow twitch muscle fiber while fast twitch muscle fiber remain undeveloped. It is known, however, that if fast twitch muscle fiber is also developed and strengthened, the explosive movement of football linemen will improve.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,914 discloses a device for training athletes. The disclosed device consists of a frame having a pair of inclined guides on which several weight members are slidably mounted. In using this device, an athlete such as a football lineman assumes a crouching position and then pushes the weight members up the inclined guides with his shoulders. While this device is effective in teaching the proper movement for football linemen, it primarily strengthens the back and leg muscles without developing the upper body muscles in the arms, neck and shoulders.